Allison Franks (Hobbit.Town Jewelry)

Friday, August 30, 2013

It's my freaking birthday! It's funny though because I'm not as excited about it as I usually am. I remember when birthdays were about having huge celebrations, dancing until you dropped and drinking till you passed out. Today is not one those days however and I think I'm honestly o.k. with that. I'll be honest I'm not really excited about my birthday today (as I don't really want to be 27) but at least I got presents right?? I suppose aging is inevitable anyways... so I might as well get over it!

Plus, I have the best boyfriend in the world. Seriously he really came through with presents this time around. When doesn't he, right? First off he got me this RARE 1st pressing vinyl copy of the Valley Girl soundtrack. It's like totally bitchin!

And then he found me this crazy cool Willow activity book! It has everything from coloring, to puzzles to recipes in there! WTF!? I can't believe I didn't know about this before...

Ummm I'm like totally making that pie soon!

And so while I REALLY liked both of those things... I kinda school girl freaked out when I opened this one. I've totally almost bought these like a million times!!

Marcus... you rule!! And the best part is I have 2 more presents coming in the mail! I swear he spoils me...

And speaking of spoiling... I have totally been spoiling myself too! I will admit I was going to get this shit anyways... but I did justify these purchases to myself by thinking to myself "but it's my birthday!" hahaha. I swear I have a shopping problem.

And while I'm in the moment... this is as good as any time to show you my current Sailor Moon wand collection which I am proud to say is complete! Ok... so I WANT more. But I finally own all the ones I like really really really wanted so I am quite content with my collection and very happy indeed. I'm like a giddy school girl over here all the time. SERIOUSLY! I can't stop looking at them!

And of course... I HAD to also get 2 Chibi Moon wands too. I mean she's my favorite next to Saturn! UGH if only they made a Saturn wand.... I'd be ALL over that!

Anyways I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day. Hope you are all having a blast as well! Oh! And all weekend long in celebration I am having a HUGE birthday sale in both of my etsy shops. ;)
Just use the coupon code: BDAY27
It'll get you 27% off your entire purchase and is valid at both hobbit.town jewelry and sinsperations.

Zombies Go Rawr is a very cute little shop filled with some crazy cute clay creations. It's run by my friend Elizabeth and jam packed with every tiny charm you ever wanted! She has everything from zombie cupcakes to anime characters to tiny poops. Almost all of them are given cutesy anthropomorphic faces and expressions too. They always make me smile. ;)

Elizabeth's shop is based out of San Antonio,TX very close to where I live and we will actually be sharing a booth at an upcoming comic convention this fall! How cool is that?? I'm very happy to have met Elizabeth thanks again to the Wear If You Dare etsy team. She's a very fun nerdy person like me and a soon to be official craft buddy! I've been wanting one of those for ages! ;)

Awhile back Elizabeth and I traded as part of one of our team event's and I happened to snag some of her ultra cute little charms. It's how we met too!

Of course I HAD to get some zombie cupcakes..

And then of course I also got a little zombie toast! Just for funsies. :)

The zombie toast I got from her I had her make into a cute little ring for me. And as for the zombie cupcakes.. well I used those cuties to make some very fun kawaii earrings for myself. Aren't they darling??

We are totally going to knock everybody dead at the Alamo City Comic Con this year! ;)

Next we have...

I just LOVE Sugar Plum Robots! Here we have a shop that specializes in using custom images to create anything you want from buttons to pocket mirrors! They have a large variety of things for you to choose from as it is, but the possibilities are really endless. And all image quality on everything is top notch! I've had the pleasure of trading with them on several occasions (thanks wear if you dare!) and I'm so in love with everything I've gotten so far. Someday I hope to get a button maker of my own so I can try out this sort of thing too. But those things are WAAAAY out of my price range. If only I could win the lottery...

When I saw these earrings I knew they had to be mine.. I mean DUH!

And then of course I couldn't resist this super cool Night of the Living Dead fridge magnet! I look at it everytime I grab a beer and smile. ;)

I also grabbed a few buttons from her too including this super cute little sushi friend! Isn't he cute??

It's a rather large button (2.25") but I like it! It's so kawaii and adorbs. My all time favorite though is this beyond amazing doll button... when I saw it I was speechless!

I can't wait to grab some more goodies from her shop in the future! I really like all her cute designs and photos. You should totally check out her shop if you get the chance. You won't be disappointed.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Today has been a FANTASTIC day! It was just one of those super fun very high spirited days where everything goes right and you feel all special inside. Ok... so it helped that I got a Sailor Moon wand in the mail today.. (hahaha) but that's not the only reason I'm so giddy right now. Seriously. I have some AMAZING friends and I just wanted to say "thanks guys!". I don't know what I'd do without you always making me smile all the time. I know it's lame... but I don't care. I love you guys! ;)

First off I'd like to thank Judi of EKRdoodle Vintage! She is one of my teammates and fellow leader on the Vintage Toy Addiction team I'm a part of on etsy. She has a very cute little toy shop and it's been so much fun getting to know her on the team. A few months ago she sent me some doll heads to play with and I thought it was just the sweetest thing ever! I have yet to "play" with them yet, but I know I will put them to good use soon enough. Aren't they fun??

Next I'd like to thank the oh so lovely Tricia of Morbid Midget's World! Tricia is like the coolest! We met thanks to etsy and I eagerly look forward to frolicking with her around Virginia. She makes the most amazing creepy dolls I've ever seen! And her specialty is "moving parts" which provides a whole other level of eerie to each one. ;) Several months ago I sent her one of my weirdo dolls and she's been working on making her into a funky little monster for me ever since. I can't wait to see how she turns out! I know it's going to be mind-blowingly awesome, if only I weren't so impatient... (teehee). In the meantime, she just sent me a bundle of little fun things to play with. I loved her funny little notes too. I was giggling like a little kiddo in the post office when I opened it. sigh* you know me so well girl! ;)

I'd also like to thank my newest friend Lisa of Loved Once More Vintage! She is also on the Vintage Toy Addiction team and has a super cute little vintage toy shop on etsy. I've had a blast talking with her about flea market adventures, toy identifications and all kinds of stuff! She is a super sweet lady and I'm so glad to have met her. A few months ago, my toy shop on etsy Sinsperations wasn't doing so well. I was making very few sales per month and was really down about it. And what did Lisa do? She sent me a super cool vintage Ghostbusters board game booklet! It put such a big smile on my face. I totally want to hunt down the pieces of this game so I can play it. It looks like a lot of fun!!

And last but not least I'd like to thank my good friend Denise over at Wicked Alterations! Denise makes everything from jewelry to art boxes in her little etsy shop. She has a thing for Halloween and skeletons, but like to play with toys in her art as well. Can you see why we've become such good friends now?? Anyways, Denise sent me a box of My Little Ponies recently "just cause" and it made me SO happy!! I'm going to have so much fun with these!! Besides.. you can never have too many ponies. Plus, I got an Asian boy as a bonus! How cool is that??

Anyways, now that I've got all my "lameness" out I'm going to craft my little heart out. It's been so very long since I've done that so I know I'm going to go bananas over here! ;)

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Today I'd like to introduce you to one of my good friend's etsy shop: Spider Mambo! First off I really love that name! Isn't it awesome?? Makes me think of snakes and spiders and other fun Halloween things. :)
It really fits too because Laurie of Spider Mambo is all about skulls!!

Laurie is a very talented artist. Not only does she create cool collage pieces, but she makes very unique hand stitched crochet items. They all have skulls of course, but they range in size and shape from small bracelets to large shawls each one different from the next. I'm amazed by her stitches and love her little doll clothes as well. I envy her skills!

Anyways, Laurie and I have had the pleasure of trading several times now thanks to the Wear If You Dare and Dark Traders team events. She was also one of the many lovely supporters that helped back my RAW Artists event. I couldn't have participated without your support girl. ;)

The first time we traded I stocked up on some very cool collage prints. They now are one display in my kooky office and provide a constant source of inspiration to my crafty mind. Most of them are from her "skull project" where she created a funky skull print each day for one whole year.

Let's check 'em out shall we?

Aren't they wild?? I love the colors! They are each individually kooky and vibrant. I can't honestly tell you which one I like most. :)

The next few times we traded I had to go for her amazing crochet pieces. I have always wanted to learn how to crochet, but never have. I'm super jealous of her skills, but look up to her also. Laurie I hope you turn into my inspiration for picking up a new craft!

I'm seriously in love with this bracelet! It's very soft and comfy and the colors are amazing! I can't stop wearing it.

And I just got these AMAZING gloves a few weeks back...

They were the perfect addition to my wardrobe. Plus, I've been on a Madonna kick and fingerless gloves are a must for that kind of thing. ;)

I highly recommend this shop and look forward to trading/shopping with her again. She never disappoints and is as sweet as can be. She's has sent me various little odds n' ends just for fun too which is super nice of her. I can't wait to see what I create from all her little doo dads. (hehe)

Monday, August 19, 2013

Well today was the last day of medication for the kitties. Yay!! I now have 3 healthy & worm free little boogers to keep me company. They are all eating solid foods on their own, they are all happily litter box trained, and rambunctious as ever! I'm so proud of them! But now that they are healthy they are getting really REALLY curious about everything! Honestly, they always were.... but now they are strong enough to hop and climb which makes today a complete kitty proofing day! That's right I have the day off work finally and I'm going to be at it all day trying to hide away all the "unsafe for kitties" things aka all the stuff I like... I'm particularly worried about my figures, craft space and jewelry displays.

Here's a few photos for you guys so you know what lies ahead of me. I've taken care of the "floor situation" already.. but once they are jumping it's a free for all! They are already swatting and pouncing on my video games and wires (which is a huge no no!) so I fear what will become of all my other pretties if I don't take some precautions.

Problem #1: Necklaces

As you can see... in my room I have some awesome hooks and stuff for my growing personal necklace pile. I have a lot don't I... whoops! Either way I foresee this being a great spot for the kitties to swat their little hearts out at all the shiny dangly things. Oi! I don't know what to do except more them higher off the ground... but will that even be possible?? I just don't know...

Problem #2: Earrings

I really love my earring set up... but with them on my night stand and just above I can already see the kitties climbing over from the bed to wreak havoc on all these fun things. Sigh* Nothing is safe anymore!

Problem #3: The office...

This is where I get REALLY scared. I know right now... my office is in a particularly worse state than normal, but there are so many things hanging from the ceiling, on my desk and around that seem like lovely kitty play things. Especially all my figures! I really wish I had a door to block off this section of the house. That would be particularly nice for let's say that time when you are peacefully gluing something together and then all of a sudden you have a curious kitty covered in glue. Do you think I'm being too paranoid for thinking this way?? I just don't trust these boogers yet. They don't seem to be listening all that well and are way more concerned with why they can't play EVERYWHERE. sigh*

At least for now they seem to be pre-occupied..

Wish me luck! And feel free to drop some recommendations in the comment section below. I will admit I am not a very good organizer and am kinda clueless as to where to begin with this project (haha).

Monday, August 12, 2013

Hey everybody! Over the last week almost all of my time has been devoted to caring for three of the CUTEST baby kittens you've even seen. I discovered them living underneath my porch and just couldn't bear to seem them suffer out their all alone in the crazy intense Texas heat so I took them in. Anyone with a heart would have done the same. They are just SO sweet! ;)

Their parents are two (of four) local strays that my neighbor and I look out for. Their mommy is so emaciated though I didn't even notice she was preggers! Crazy huh?

Here's a photo of the kitties coming out from underneath the porch to play with us the first time we met them. Honestly, it was love at first sight. :)

A few days later (on my day off) I scooped these little buggers up and took 'em to the vet. They had a little cold so we got them on some medicine to get away those pesky eye boogers and clear up their respiratory infections. Poor things! I can't imagine living under my porch was a good place to grow up. At least now they are happy and have two loving new parents to look after them. The vet also got us some worm medicine and told us we had 2 girls and 1 little boy on our hands. They were estimated at 5 weeks old and all weighted roughly 1 pound (give or take). At first, while I wanted to make sure they were all fit and healthy I didn't expect to keep all 3. Let's face it... that's a lot of cats! But now I don't think Marcus and I will be able to part with them. They are all so friendly, playful and cute and I can't imagine what it'd be like to split them up.

Here's a picture of our big boy "Flynn":

Yes, he is named after Kevin Flynn (from Tron) and he is one badass kitty! He's going to be SO big and fat and fluffy! I'm so excited. Those have always been my favorite kinds of kitties. ;)

And here are our 2 little girls "Luna" and "Zora". "Luna" is the black one (duh!) and is named after my favorite Sailor Moon kitty. You have no idea how long I have dreamed of owning a cat of my own so I could name her this. It's super dorky, but I don't care! She's adorable!

Little "Zora" is a cutie too, but damn is she an attention whore. She likes to climb on EVERYTHING and is so good at it now that she will start at your feet and be at your head before you know it! It's really cute, but also really painful as she isn't always so nice with her claws and she is scurrying along your body. :(

See what I mean??

I think "Zora" secretly wants to be a parrot because her favorite spot is on my shoulder. And boy does she love my earrings! I gotta be careful with this one... I foresee her making it very difficult to wear nice clothes. And tights? Not even an option! Those would be snagged all over the place in an instant. sigh* I suppose it's a small price to pay for cuteness though. And I'm so proud of these little boogers too. They've gotten so much better since we brought them in a little over a week ago. At first I was bottle feeding the 2 girls (they were WAY tiny!), but now they are all eating, drinking and using the litter box on their own like big boys and girls. Plus, their little cold is pretty much all gone! "Zora" was the worse off and obviously the runt so she's still a little sneezy, but the other two are in tip top shape now. ;)

I'm so excited! I've never had my own pet before. Starting with 3 babies at once may be a bad idea... but hopefully they won't be TOO troublesome. I know I'm going to have to kitty proof the fuck out of this place... and I'm terrified of them finding their way into my craft space... but I suppose we'll take it one step at a time. Wish me luck!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Do you like unique gothic jewelry and accessories?? Then you need to check out these two fabulous etsy shops. I've had the pleasure of trading with these lovely ladies a few times thanks to two of my favorite etsy teams (Wear If You Dare & Dark Traders). Let's get started shall we?

First up is..

Beauty Scars is based out of Spain and run by the lovely & super talented Gloria. I really like so many of her designs and am very happy to have traded twice with her now. She has all kinds of cute cameo and resin pieces featuring stuff like Grumpy Cat and Riot Grrl. Her style is very goth meets punk meets kawaii which is totally up my alley too. :)

I most recently traded with her for this kick ass rhinestone studded spike ring. Isn't it cool??

I have had such a good time wearing this so far. It's so blingy and wild it makes me smile. The other ring I got from her features a very strange eyeball flower behind glass. It's really cute too.

One of these days I hope to get one of her cute "word" necklaces are perhaps a pockets mirror. I totally snagged the best two rings in her shop, but I know she'll create even cooler ones in the future. If you get the chance please check out her shop. You won't be disapointed!

Next up is..

Tatooed Cuties specializes in cute & eccentric hair accessories. They make a few other jewelry items also, but the bows take over the majority of the shop and as soon as you see them you'll know why. They are to die for!

I'm so happy I was able to snag this wild eyeball bow.

In person it's just as awesome however it's a lot heavier than I expected it to be! No matter I still get a kick out of it. It's very classy too! I feel like I can be elegant and strange in it at the same time. ;)

She's got some other really cool stuff too. I think next on my list of things to have is this cool spider bow... it just fills me with Halloween spirit! Man I can't wait for Halloween!

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Are you a fan of anime and all things kawaii?? Then you need to check out these two jewelry shops! They are insanely adorable!

First up is...

Marienne Creations specializes in handmade clay creations. She has lots of cute little anime characters currently for sale including Sailor Moon, Princess Mononokee, and Ariel (The Little Mermaid). Each one is very detailed and crafted with love. I really just love them all. When I found her shop a few months back it took me awhile to decide on something, but I ended up choosing this fabulous Rainbow Brite necklace. I chose the beads and the chain and I just love what she did with them. The final product was nothing but fabulous!

I was amazed by the amount of detail on this piece too! It's hard to tell from the photo, but her hair is marked into little individual strands and each and every little tiny piece is put together with finesse. It's simply amazing work! I can't wait to get another one of her beautiful creations. The trouble is deciding which one to get next! ;)

Next up is...

I have been a secret admirer of G.A.T.U.M.I for a long time now. As you know, I'm a huge fan of kawaii and lolita fashion so it's no wonder why I love this shop so much. I'll admit I've been oogling it for awhile, but never broke down and bought anything until just recently. Why you ask? Well, I do make my own jewelry you know! But seriously, our styles are very similar so I'll admit I kept saying "no" because I try to not spend all my $$ 24/7. That doesn't really work though... notice the keyword "try" (haha)

I must say I am super jealous of all the cute little things they find to play with. G.A.T.U.M.I is filled with the cutest anime themed items I have ever seen. From the pretty beads to the characters themselves there isn't anything unlikable in this entire shop. And they have A LOT of items posted!

I simply HAD to have this Chobits necklace...

Isn't it gorgeous?? I love everything about it. And the tiny jewels, pearls and flowers on the cameo itself are darling! I just can't get enough of it honestly. I've worn it for almost a week straight now. ;)

I also got this super cute Sailor Moon necklace. I just couldn't help myself!

I really just love all things Sailor Moon. So it kind of HAD to happen. I really want to get more! There are just so many cute things here and Andie was a pleasure to do business with. He made the Chobits necklace just for me and kept me updated every step of the way. Isn't that sweet?

That's it for today folks! Hope you check out these shops and show them some love.

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About Me

Hi there! My name is Allison Franks and I'm a craftoholic. (No, seriously)
I live for art, adventure, comics, and travel. But most of all I'm hopelessly addicted to creating totally bizarre jewelry that'll make people turn around and say, "Are those babies in frying pans on your ears?".
So I guess you could say I'm a 20-something small business owner living in Austin,TX with a BA in Anthropology. And I guess you could say I'm quite happy about that. But all that really matters is that I'm having the time of my life just being me!
If you'd like to learn more about me please add me as a friend! -
www.hobbittownjewelry.etsy.com www.facebook.com/hobbittown.jewelry